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Can IndyCar afford for Fernando Alonso to win the Indianapolis 500?

By Asher Fair

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 28: Fernando Alonso of Spain, driver of the #29 McLaren-Honda-Andretti Honda, leads a group of cars during the 101st Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 28, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 28: Fernando Alonso of Spain, driver of the #29 McLaren-Honda-Andretti Honda, leads a group of cars during the 101st Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 28, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
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Can IndyCar afford to have two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso win the Indianapolis 500 in just his second career start in America’s premier open-wheel racing series?

When two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso made his IndyCar debut by competing in the 2017 Indianapolis 500 through a partnership involving Andretti Autosport and McLaren, it was an experience that many IndyCar fans savored every moment of, and it was an experience that many of them have been hoping to replicate ever since.

They are set to get the chance to do so this year, as the 37-year-old Spaniard is set to compete in the 103rd running of the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana as the driver of the #66 McLaren Chevrolet. The Woking-based team have formed a technical alliance with Carlin for this race.

But Alonso’s experience in the 101st running of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” back in 2017 was also one that came under the microscope in terms of the skill in IndyCar’s field, as it raised questions as to how great the sport’s top drivers can possibly be if they are getting beaten by a driver who has spent the better part of two decades competing in Formula 1 and had never driven in an oval race before, much less IndyCar’s most prestigious and challenging oval race.

Five-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton was among the most notable and most vocal critics of the IndyCar field during Alonso’s Indy 500 attempt two years ago. After Alonso qualified in fifth place in the 33-driver field for the race, here is what the 34-year-old Briton had to say about the matter, according to USA Today.

"“I took a look at the qualifying results. Fernando, in his first qualifying, came fifth. Does that say something about [the level] of IndyCar? Great drivers, if they can’t succeed in Formula One, look for titles in other races, but to see him come fifth against drivers who do this all year round is…interesting.”"

Alonso then went on to lead 27 of the race’s first 179 laps before an engine failure in his #29 Honda with 21 laps remaining relegated him to a 24th place finish. He was set to finish the race in the lead pack and with a chance to win it had his engine not failed.

But Alonso’s near-immediate success against IndyCar’s top drivers in his first ever oval races doesn’t illustrate at all how bad the level of the IndyCar field is. It illustrates just how good Alonso is.

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Alonso is not a one-trick pony. It’s not like he has spent his whole life competing in Formula 1 and now he just decided out of nowhere to come drive in the Indy 500 and show up the best drivers IndyCar has to offer.

Alonso can literally do it all.

He is currently in his first season competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship, and he and his Toyota Gazoo Racing team sit atop the championship standings with one of the season’s eight races remaining on the schedule. In his first career start in the 24 Hours of Le Mans last June, he was victorious.

As a result of his victory in last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, Alonso is just one Indy 500 victory away from becoming just the second driver to ever win each of the three races of the Triple Crown of Motorsport. In addition to winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he also won the Monaco Grand Prix on two occasions. He won it in the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

The only driver who has even won each of these three races at least once is the late Graham Hill. Hill is a five-time Monaco Grand Prix winner, as he won the race in the 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968 and 1969 seasons, and he won the 1966 Indy 500 as well as the 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans.

But as far as Alonso is concerned, that’s not all. In just his second career start in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship earlier this year in January, he won the prestigious 24 Hours of Daytona (Rolex 24 at Daytona) driving for Konica Minolta Cadillac, giving him yet another crown jewel victory to add to his crown jewel victory-filled resume.

Additionally, there have been rumors going around that he may find himself competing in the most prestigious race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, the Daytona 500, in the near future as well, perhaps even in the Coca-Cola 600 as a part of the Memorial Day Double. With all things considered, these rumors are not too far-fetched.

Next. Top 10 Indianapolis 500 drivers of all-time. dark

Can IndyCar afford for Fernando Alonso, a two-time Formula 1 champion who has completed just 447.5 miles of IndyCar racing, IndyCar oval racing to be more specific, in his racing career, to win the sport’s most prestigious oval race and most prestigious overall race, the Indianapolis 500?

There is absolutely no reason in the world why the answer to this question should be no. I fail to see how a driver who is arguably one of the top drivers in racing history having success in another form of racing somehow devalues the strength of the field in that particular series — because it doesn’t.